Tbh if you only turn up to pre-releases for boosters then you shouldn't be there in the first place because you won't get your moneys worth unless you come first. Just turn up to fnms or buy them instead.
Pre-releases are for people who want the promos and a special box and have fun. Not competitive. Personal experience doing pre-releases at my local.
Granted it's a casual and relaxed settings, but I'd have words with your store if only 1st place people are getting prizes... Esp if it's a larger shop. That's one of the reasons I attend prereleases is because the prize payout is larger than other tournaments on this level, and even if you stink you can usually walk out with 1-2 packs.
You get a pack for every win you get. So if you come first I think you get 4 packs, 2nd get 3 and etc.
That's interesting. At my old game store (Graham Crackers Comics in Naperville, Illionis, USA), the Pre-release tournament was exactly the same as an FNM. They awarded based on number of games won (usually top prize was 4-0, mid prize was 3-0 with 1 tie, and low prize was 3-1), and was run essentially the same way FNM was, except with more people (Pre-releases there packed the house with usually around 80-90 people, so the prizes were usually larger). To be honest, I always thought that Pre-releases were just like other tournaments, but with (usually) fun gimmicks; was I wrong in that thought?
In any case, I'll be living in Beijing for the next year, so it should be fun seeing how pre-releases are done there. Last time I was there, I didn't get to play any pre-releases; the card store I found didn't give any prize to the tournament winners, but the price of playing a tournament was intentionally less that the price of simply buying the booster packs (it was around 20 RMB per pack, with draft being about 45-50 RMB for 3 packs, with 6.5 RMB to 1 US dollar).
The price of packs also seems interesting to me. You said that your store's packs are 3.5 pounds per, translated to $5.40. At Graham Crackers Comics it was $4.28 after tax, and 20 RMB translated to USD becomes roughly $3.40. Because of this, at Graham Crackers Comics, the pre-release was actually cheaper than just buying packs, because it was $27 for 7 packs (6 entry for Sealed, one non-tournament pack that everyone gets with the pre-release promo). Since it would cost about $30 after tax to just buy 7 packs, the tournament was cheaper than the packs. Is this generally the same experience you all have had, or were the pre-releases I went to radically different?
Here in Australia boosters cost 7$ (6.44 USD), prerelease costs 40$ (36.8 USD), we play 4games and get 2 boosters per win.
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Huey, Dewey and Louie are always dressed in RUG. it is CLEARLY going to be the wedges block Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Amen mate. Oh and 6 packs and $5 will get you into the next sealed as well. Fun times.
That seems pretty awesome; my old place had something like that, except that it was 5 boosters for a free draft. By the way, does that apply to pre-releases with old packs? In other words, can you show up to a pre-release with a bunch of boosters won from an older set's tournament, then keep trading in the old packs for sealed with the new pre-release product? If so, then that seems incredibly awesome.
Granted it's a casual and relaxed settings, but I'd have words with your store if only 1st place people are getting prizes... Esp if it's a larger shop. That's one of the reasons I attend prereleases is because the prize payout is larger than other tournaments on this level, and even if you stink you can usually walk out with 1-2 packs.
I go to an extremely small store for my pre-releases and I am always expected to get a pity pack for playing. So I agree with you, something is weird about that stores prize allotment.
P-R is probably the best time and only time I ever open a booster pack. 1st has a promise of a couple dozen packs. And everything is so inflated that it's the highest most cards will ever be price-wise. I can even profit when I pay with $30 in credit, and end up with $55 in credit for third after simply selling it to the shop itself.
I don't like the "here have your bomb." aspect of the prereleases, there should be some skill behind making a sealed deck and giving you your (most likely) color/primary color is a real shame to me. I'm still going to play in the prereleases because they're a lot of fun, just don't like that they're doing a guild pack esqu event again.
what you haven't figured it out? Requiring skill doesn't sell. Hence standard.
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Check out my Sales 50% OFF everything for the next 48 hours.
Theros Pre-Release: Choose one - The Protector, The Philosopher, The Avenger, The Warrior, The Hunter
Theros Launch: The Harvester
Theros Game Day: The Slayer
Worthless casual event aside, this does seem kind of fun. A shame my LGS is still too bitter about the Helvault to do any of this.
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Standard
UR Control
Modern
Merfolk
Burn
Avacyn did nothing wrong!
Purify Innistrad!
#Purge
Granted it's a casual and relaxed settings, but I'd have words with your store if only 1st place people are getting prizes... Esp if it's a larger shop. That's one of the reasons I attend prereleases is because the prize payout is larger than other tournaments on this level, and even if you stink you can usually walk out with 1-2 packs.
That's interesting. At my old game store (Graham Crackers Comics in Naperville, Illionis, USA), the Pre-release tournament was exactly the same as an FNM. They awarded based on number of games won (usually top prize was 4-0, mid prize was 3-0 with 1 tie, and low prize was 3-1), and was run essentially the same way FNM was, except with more people (Pre-releases there packed the house with usually around 80-90 people, so the prizes were usually larger). To be honest, I always thought that Pre-releases were just like other tournaments, but with (usually) fun gimmicks; was I wrong in that thought?
In any case, I'll be living in Beijing for the next year, so it should be fun seeing how pre-releases are done there. Last time I was there, I didn't get to play any pre-releases; the card store I found didn't give any prize to the tournament winners, but the price of playing a tournament was intentionally less that the price of simply buying the booster packs (it was around 20 RMB per pack, with draft being about 45-50 RMB for 3 packs, with 6.5 RMB to 1 US dollar).
The price of packs also seems interesting to me. You said that your store's packs are 3.5 pounds per, translated to $5.40. At Graham Crackers Comics it was $4.28 after tax, and 20 RMB translated to USD becomes roughly $3.40. Because of this, at Graham Crackers Comics, the pre-release was actually cheaper than just buying packs, because it was $27 for 7 packs (6 entry for Sealed, one non-tournament pack that everyone gets with the pre-release promo). Since it would cost about $30 after tax to just buy 7 packs, the tournament was cheaper than the packs. Is this generally the same experience you all have had, or were the pre-releases I went to radically different?
Pioneer: WURFaerie fires BRGDragons
ModernBGElves WRBurn UR Fires Turns URGift Storm UG Twiddle Storm
Amen mate. Oh and 6 packs and $5 will get you into the next sealed as well. Fun times.
That seems pretty awesome; my old place had something like that, except that it was 5 boosters for a free draft. By the way, does that apply to pre-releases with old packs? In other words, can you show up to a pre-release with a bunch of boosters won from an older set's tournament, then keep trading in the old packs for sealed with the new pre-release product? If so, then that seems incredibly awesome.
I go to an extremely small store for my pre-releases and I am always expected to get a pity pack for playing. So I agree with you, something is weird about that stores prize allotment.
what you haven't figured it out? Requiring skill doesn't sell. Hence standard.
Theros Pre-Release: Choose one - The Protector, The Philosopher, The Avenger, The Warrior, The Hunter
Theros Launch: The Harvester
Theros Game Day: The Slayer
Worthless casual event aside, this does seem kind of fun. A shame my LGS is still too bitter about the Helvault to do any of this.